Oscars 2014: Gravity dominates at the 86th Academy Awards

12 Years a Slave may have won best picture but Alfonso Cuaron's space thriller shone, winning in seven out of its ten categories

Gravity has dominated at the 86th annual Academy Awards, winning seven prizes at the prestigious ceremony.

The film, which stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney and follows space newcomer Dr Ryan Stone and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski, missed out on just three of the categories it was nominated in.

The film's director, Alfonso Cuarón, picked up the gong for best director while the film also received plenty of technical awards including recognition for cinematography, visual effects, sound editing, sound mixing, film editing and original score.

Both 12 Years a Slave and Dallas Buyers Club took home three awards apiece, with the former picking up the coveted best picture, as well as adapted screenplay for screenwriter John Ridley. The film's breakout star, Lupita Nyong'o, also triumphed beating out competition from American Hustle's Jennifer Lawrence to win best supporting actess.

Dallas Buyers Club's stars Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto were also recognised by the Academy, receiving the best actor and best supporting actor trophies, while the film picked up Oscars for hair and makeup styling.

The Great Gatsby - which received mixed reviews from critics when it was released in May last year - claimed two awards for costume and production design, both awarded to Catherine Martin, director Baz Luhrmann's wife.

The evening's biggest loser was comedy caper American Hustle which walked away empty-handed, despite ten nominations, including entrants in all four major acting categories plus best director, best original screenplay and best picture.